1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motorcycle having a vehicle body frame, and to components of such a motorcycle. The vehicle body frame includes a head pipe which steerably supports a front fork which in turn rotatably supports an axis of a front wheel, an engine for driving a rear wheel, and a fuel tank arranged behind the head pipe and above the engine. The engine and the fuel tank are mounted on the vehicle body frame, a seat is arranged on the rear side of the fuel tank, and a front portion of the seat overlaps a rear portion of the fuel tank to cover the same from above. Shrouds are provided which are arranged on both sides of the fuel tank, so as to cover at least part of the side surfaces of the fuel tank. The front ends of the shrouds extend toward the front fork, and are configured to direct traveling wind toward the engine when the motorcycle is in motion. The present invention relates specifically to an improved supporting structure of a rear portion of the shroud.
2. Description of the Background Art
It is known to provide a motorcycle having fuel tank shrouds arranged to cover part of both sides of a fuel tank, and fastened to a respective side surface of the fuel tank. The shrouds, formed of synthetic resin, direct traveling wind toward an engine. The motorcycle includes a known structure in which a mounting strip is provided at a rear portion of the shroud. The mounting strip is adapted to be engaged with a hook-shaped latching strip projected from a rear portion of the fuel tank. This structure is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent No. 2582251. An alternative shroud mounting structure is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3044731, in which a projection extending from a rear portion of a fuel tank is adapted to be engaged with a mounting hole provided on a rear portion of a synthetic resin shroud, in order to permit fastening of the shroud to a side surface of the fuel tank.
However, while the shroud is formed of synthetic resin, the fuel tank is formed of metal such as iron, and hence the latching strip or the projection on the side of the fuel tank, formed of metal, is engaged with the rear portion of the shroud, formed of synthetic resin, in both of Japanese Patent No. 2582251 and Japanese Patent No. 3044731 described above. Therefore, there arises a necessity to consider friction between the latching strip or the projection and the shroud in accordance with oscillation of the rear portion of the shroud due to an effect of traveling wind, or rattling due to a gap between the latching strip and the projection on the side of the fuel tank and the rear portion of the shroud. In addition, in the structure in which the latching strip or the projection for supporting the rear portion of the shroud is provided, there is a possibility that the capacity of the fuel tank is obliged to be reduced, in order to secure a space for arranging the latching strip or the projection. Furthermore, a case in which the number of components or the number of steps in a welding process is increased must be taken into consideration.
In view of such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a supporting structure of a rear portion of a shroud in a motorcycle in which the rear portion of the shroud can be stably supported while avoiding an occurrence of rattling for a long term. In addition, the problem of friction generation and/or rattling at the fuel tank side caused by supporting the rear portion of the shroud thereon is solved.